Beef is not grown in confinement buildings as hogs and poultry are. Although “finished out” in feedlots, the mother cow is in a pasture its entire life and the calf for about half of its life is there with her. Because of climate change, farmers have been selling their beef stock because of a lack of grass.
“We are producing 1 billion pounds less of American beef than we were last year this time. So, this is a crisis that is going to affect every American at the local grocery stores….. United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) late January showed that the inventory of all U.S. beef cattle from Jan. 1 was down 2% when compared to 2023’s count…Additionally, the drop within this year’s beef herd inventory is a 4% decline from 2022 to 2023, making it the smallest beef herd the U.S. has had since 1951, according to American Farm Bureau Federation economist Bernt Nelson…”The Daily Caller
To replace and rebuild the herds is a long process. First, the mother cow must be raised to production age, then breed, then another 9 months before the calf is born is born and then before the calf is available to be slaughtered for meat, we are looking at around three years. In addition, many of the farmers who sold their herds are old enough to retire. For anyone who wants to start over or expand, they must first see a return of suitable pasture land. They will need the money to purchase the land, the money to buy new stock and the resources to be able to wait at least three years for a return,if they can find replacement stock. If it is not available near breeding season early in the year, another year will past before they can start.
Now you know why “... two of the four major meat packers have invested heavily in bugs. One, Tyson Foods, announced two weeks ago that they’re going to build a $500 million plant for crickets. …”The Daily Caller
“Some 2 billion people around the world already eat insects to supplement their diet, according to the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization. The practice is known as entomophagy.” American Heart Association
“The world’s largest insect farm — a high-tech facility that sprawls across 35,000 square meters and will produce 15,000 metric tons of protein from fly larvae each year — opened in April in Nesle, France. If all goes to plan, it will be upstaged in December by a 45,000-square-meter farm outside Amiens capable of producing over 100,000 metric tons of mealworms per year…Inside the cutting-edge farms, companies breed squirming masses of crickets, mealworms and fly larvae within temperature-controlled plastic vats designed to help them grow quickly. They process the insects’ feces into fertilizer and their bodies into protein and nutrient-rich oil for pets, fish and livestock…The bugs feed on food waste, often piped in from nearby farms or food processing plants. They’re tended to day and night by human handlers and AI-powered robots that keep the factories churning out protein 24/7…“
Updated November 13, 2023 Washington Post
It is already in our food. Cricket flour is also known as cricket powder or acheta powder. You can probably find it already listed on the ingredients of products on the shelf. I would not be surprised if the name will be changed just as was done for sugar. You may not recognize the new name and it may blend in with all the other unpronounceable names listed. For example, you may see;
“Bug flour and cricket flour are types of insect-based flours, which is a growing trend in sustainable, protein-rich foods. “Bug flour” is a general term that can refer to flour made from any edible insects – crickets, mealworms, grasshoppers, silkworms, etc”. Talk Commerce
“… insects can be used as a substitute for flour of cereals, for the enrichment of snacks because of their high content of proteins, lipids, and fiber… Bioactive compounds, as antioxidant agents, insulin regulators, and anti-inflammatory peptides, are high-value products that can be obtained from insects. Fatty acids that play a significant role in human health and lipids from insects have showed positive impacts on coronary disease, inflammation, and cancer… edible insects contain essential nutrients such as proteins, vitamins, minerals, and fatty acids….In addition, insects are also high in minerals like copper (Cu), selenium (Se), iron (Fe), zinc (Zn), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), manganese (Mn), and phosphorus (P), as well as vitamins like biotin, riboflavin, pantothenic acid, and folic acid. …Cereal-based foods have long been a staple of many cultures around the world, and they are the most important source of nutrients for humans. The most consumed cereals are rice, wheat, and maize . Unfortunately, some of them lack important nutrients, for example, maize is a deficient source of Fe, Ca, and Zn, and has only 8% protein…Wheat bread has been enriched with flour from cinereous cockroaches (Nauphoeta cinerea), ….. Bread made with cockroach flour has an advantage in terms of fat content, with a high percentage of unsaturated fatty acids rich in omega-6 (ω-6) and omega-9 (ω-9). “….National Library of Medicine
This is not an article to promote or discourage the use of insects. Although this article will be posted under my “You are What You Eat, Breathe…group’, I am trying to not relate it to Food and Health as suggested by ‘Kos. and it is important for Regenerative Agriculture as the world needs sustainable food. For those who still want to see my articles on Food and Health, I have several social media sites where you can follow me. You may find them here.